<p id=”par-1_61″>While <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/beyonce/?swcfpc=1″>Beyoncé’s</a> talents primarily lay in <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/music/”>music</a>, the singer has dabbled in acting over the years. In a 2008 <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/movies/”>film</a>, she took on the role of Etta James. Beyoncé said the role was an honor, but James wasn’t quite sure Beyoncé was the right person for the part. Here’s why she thought they might need a different actor in the role.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-a-singer-wasn-t-sold-on-beyonce-s-ability-to-play-her-in-a-movie”>A singer wasn’t sold on Beyoncé’s ability to play her in a movie</h2>
<p id=”par-2_23″>In 2008, Beyoncé played James <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/the-heartwarming-reason-beyonce-donated-her-entire-cadillac-records-salary-to-charity.html/”>in <em>Cadillac Records</em></a>. She had the opportunity to speak to the legendary singer, a meeting that terrified her.</p>
<p id=”par-3_30″>“I was terrified to meet her,” Beyoncé told <a href=”https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a9721/the-liberation-of-b-271284/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Elle</a>. “Imagine. Having studied her hands, her facial expressions. Like she wasn’t real. But she was. I just wanted to please her.”</p>
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<iframe title=”Cadillac Records (2008) Trailer #1 | Movieclips Classic Trailers” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/0S2Z_zuJxQs?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p id=”par-4_41″>There was a reason to be nervous. James hadn’t exactly given her stamp of approval. “I don’t think she looks like me,” she had said when she learned Beyoncé was playing her. Ultimately, though, Beyoncé won her over with her voice.</p>
<p id=”par-5_38″>“Etta told me, ‘I thought you was a little old thing, girl, but you a brick house!’ ” she recalled. “She kept saying, ‘You bad, girl! You bad!’ She doesn’t say much, but she never tells a lie.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-beyonce-shared-what-it-was-like-to-play-the-singer”>Beyoncé shared what it was like to play the singer</h2>
<p id=”par-6_36″>Beyoncé said that playing James allowed her to access emotions that she rarely did in her normal life. She saw herself as <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/beyonce-made-it-through-2003-bet-awards-with-alter-ego.html/”>a reserved person</a>, and she had to get very emotional to play the singer.</p>
<p id=”par-7_64″>“What’s that expression? I mean, I feel like you get more bees with honey. But that doesn’t mean I don’t get frustrated in my life,” she said. “My way of dealing with frustration is to shut down and to think and speak logically. But playing Etta was a time when I didn’t have to do that. I could be loud and let it rip.”</p>
<p id=”par-8_18″>She liked the chance to access a new side of herself, but she admitted that it was exhausting.</p>
<p id=”par-9_29″>“It was freeing, but it was also the most emotionally draining time of my life,” she said. “Every day I would come home, my eyes would be completely swollen.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-etta-james-later-shared-how-unhappy-she-was-with-beyonce”>Etta James later shared how unhappy she was with Beyoncé</h2>
<p id=”par-10_43″>Not long after the film’s release, James seemed to have lost the goodwill she felt towards Beyoncé. She sang “At Last” at the 2009 Inaugural Ball, which James did not appreciate. She took shots at both Barack Obama and Beyoncé during a concert.</p>
<p id=”par-11_56″>“You guys know your president, right? You know the one with the big ears?” she said, per <a target=”_blank” href=”https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/feb/06/beyonce-etta-james-barack-obama” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>The Guardian</a>. “Wait a minute, he ain’t my president. He might be yours; he ain’t my president. But I tell you that woman he had singing for him, singing my song — she’s going to get her a** whupped.”</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-2″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Beyonce-Etta-James-1.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Etta James stands with Beyonce. They both wear black.” class=”wp-image-3755808″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Etta James and Beyoncé | Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images</figcaption></figure>
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<p id=”par-12_7″>Her <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/beyonces-performance-at-obamas-inaugural-ball-sparked-a-controversy-with-etta-james.html/”>biggest problem was with Beyoncé</a>, though.</p>
<p id=”par-13_34″>“The great Beyoncé,” James said. “I can’t stand Beyoncé. She has no business up there, singing up there on a big ol’ president day, gonna be singing my song that I’ve been singing forever.”</p>
<p id=”par-14_37″>According to James, she made those comments because she was disappointed she couldn’t attend the Inaugural Ball. At the time, she was dealing with complications from surgery. She also said that they were mostly made in jest.</p>
<p id=”par-15_29″>“I didn’t really mean anything,” she said, per <a target=”_blank” href=”https://www.today.com/popculture/etta-james-says-rip-beyonce-was-joke-wbna29036739″ rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Today</a>. “Even as a little child, I’ve always had that comedian kind of attitude. … That’s probably what went into it.”</p>